Electric semaphore.



PATENTED APR. '19, 1904.

D. BOISVERT.

ELECTRIC SEMAPHORE.

APPLIGATION FILED 001213, 1902.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 1.

N0 MODEL.

Inventor, as ver Attorneys m: NGNRIS FEYERS co. Pum'ou'mq, wax-ammo. a. u

"No. 757,722. PATENT-ED APR. 19,1904. D BOISVERT. ELECTRIC SBMAPHORB.- APPLICATION nnnn 001.13, ma.

3 SHEETS-EHEBT Attorneys THE nouns mzws co. PNOTG-LITHO wAsHmnrM. b c.

UNITED STATES I Patented April 19, 1904.

PATENT Fries.

ELECTRIC SEMAPHOFtE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 757,722 dated April 19, 1904.

Application filed October 13, 1902.

To all whom it may concern.-

- Be it known that I, DONA Borsvnn'r, a subject of the King of Great Britain, residing at Providence, county of Providence, State of Rhode Island, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Electric Semaphores; and I do hereby declare that the following is a full, clear, and exact description of the in vention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

. My invention relates to asemaphore adapted to be used for railway signaling, and especially adapted for use at a short distance from the station at which the semaphore is operated.

The object of my invention is to provide a semaphore which is readily operable by pressing a button from the station and which has means connected therewith for notifying the operator at the station that-the arms of the semaphore have turned, and, furthermore,

injury by wind, rain, or other atmospheric agencies.

A further .OlJJBGt of my invention 1S to simplify the construction of the apparatus so as to h provide a minimum of parts which are liable to get out of order and to enable the same to be worked by abattery-current of small power.

My semaphore is of that type which are mechanically operated but electrically controlled-that is to say, in which the power neededfor operating the semaphore is due to a mechanical motor, especially one, such as a clock weight or spring, which is wound up at intervals, while the means for releasing and controlling the said motor are operated by electricity.

My invention consists in the main in a semaphore arm or pair of arms mounted on a horizontal axle, rotatable in journals carried in a suitable casing and having connected therewith gearing and a suitable weight-motor or $erial in). 127,128. (No model.)

other like device, in combination with an escapement-wheel and a pallet or pawl adapted to strike against the teeth of said wheel and to hold it against turning, except when the said pawl is drawn back by the operation of a' subsidiary'motor, which is released by an electrially-operated click and so arranged as to be prevented from' turning more than one revolution at each depression of the button which operates said click, the said button being located in the station from which the semaphore is to be operated and in the same battery-circuit with the magnet which operates the click.

My invention further consists in providing a safety device or means of notification to the operator in the station that the semaphore-arms have been duly operated or depressed by the depression of the button, said means comprising a belllocated in the station and a make-and-break device, which is operated by the turning of said pallet-wheel, so as to cause the bell to ring at each partial revolutionthereof, and, furthermore, to cause the bell to ring continuously when the semaphore-arms are set at danger.

My invention further consists in providing a semicircular hood or covering, which incloses the uppermost arm of the semaphore when it is vertically set and prevents the possible destruction thereof by the wind.

My invention further consists in the construction and combination of parts hereinafter described and more particularly set forth in the claims.

In the drawings accompanying this specification I have illustrated one means of carrying out my invention, and herein Figure 1 is -a perspective view of my improved semaphore complete as locatedon a line of railway. Fig. 2 is a transverse vertical section through the case of the semaphore, taken on the line 2 2 of Fig. 3 and looking toward the front. Fig. 3 is a longitudinal central section'through the casing and semaphore, taken in the plane of the main axle. Fig. 4; is a detailed view, in side elevation, of the secondary motor which operates the pallet and the electricallyoperated click therefor. Fig. 5 is a front elevation of the same. Fig. 6 is a detailed longitudinal secsemaphore-arms are keyed fast to the axle 8 by any suitable meansas, for instance, by

the squared portion 13-whichprevents them from turning thereon. The rear end of the axle 8 projects beyond the bearing 9 and has fixed thereto the pallet-wheel 14, having four radial arms 15, with which engages a pallet 16, pivoted at 17 upon a stationary lug projecting from the side of the box. Furthermore, the axle 8 has keyed thereto a gear-pinion 18,which meshes witha large gear 19, which turns loosely on an arbor 20, which is supported by journalposts 21 and 22, resting on the floor of the box or casing 11. The gear-wheel 19 has fixed to one side thereof a ratchet-wheel 23, and keyed to the arbor adjacent to the wheel 23 is a drum 24, around which is wound a cord 25, from the end of which depends a weight 26 of suitable mass for turning the semaphore arm through the medium of the gearing. To the drum 24 is fixed at the end adjacent to the wheel 23 a second ratchet-wheel 27, whose teeth face in the opposite direction from the ratchet-wheel 23, as shown, and which is operatively connected therewith by a pawl 28, which is pivoted at 29 to the face of the wheel 23-and held in engagementwith the teeth of the wheel 27 by a spring 30, alsomounted on the wheel 23. The rear end of the arbor 20 has a squared stud 31 formed thereon, which is for the purpose of enabling the insertion of a crank-handle 32 for-winding up the arbor when it becomes run down. The weight 26 is arranged to pass through a hole 33 in the bottom of the box and into a tubular column 34, which is secured to the bottom and passes downwardlyto the ground or as far as the It will be seen that this connection causes the axle of the semaphore to be rotated right-handedly,

. as shown in Fig. 2 looking from the rear, and

in order to prevent possible backward motion the ratchet-wheel 23 is provided with a pawl '35, pivoted at 36 to a stationary lug on the side of the casing.

The ordinary motion of the semaphore-arms caused by the weight is prevented by the pallet 16, the upper arm 37 of which abuts against one of the radial arms 15, exceptwhen drawn out of engagement therewith by the electrically-operated releasing device, which is illustrated in detail in Figs. 4 and 5. Upon a secondary axle 38, jourualed on posts 39 at the side of the main axle, is carried a drum 40, which has wound thereon a cord 41, from which depends a weight 42, and the front end of the axle has keyed thereto a wheel 43, which has at one point thereof a radial tooth 44, with which coacts the releasing click 45. This click is of three-sided form, as shown in Fig. 4, the middle member 46 of which slides in stationary guides 47, and its upper and lower members (designated, respectively, 48 and 49) project into the vicinity of the rim of the wheel 43, at opposite sides thereof, as shown, and are so disposed that one of them must in 'all positions of the click engage with the tooth 44 to prevent the wheel 43from turning. To the upper end of the click is attached an armature of soft iron 50, immediately adjacent to which and above the same is located an electromagnet 51, which is operated by an electric circuit 52, energized by a battery 53 and having a press-button or other contactmaking device 54 therein at the operating-station. Furthermore, the .wheel 43 has at a point thereof separated by an arc of ninety degrees from the tooth 44 a transverse pin 55, on which is journaled the pitman 56, whose other end is operatively connected, as at 57, to the upper arm 37 of the pallet 16.

The safety device which operates the returnsignal of the semaphore comprises a makeand-break contact of any suitable form, that preferably used by me being shown in Fig. 6, in combination with bosses formed around the periphery of the pallet-wheel, which are adapted to depress said contact device and make the circuitas they pass by the same. The contact device (shown in Fig. 6) comprises any suitable box or casing 59, which is carried on the upper side of the journal-box of the axle 8, as shown, and has a tubular portion 60, in which is mounteda reciprocating bolt 61, whose outer end 62 is flattened and is adapted to project into a position in proximity to the front face of the pallet-wheel. The bolt 61 is formed tubular, and in it reciprocates a secondary or contact bolt 63, which has on its forward end a contact-plate 64, lo-

cated opposite a stationary contact-plate 65,

carried by the front wall of the box 59 and insulated therefrom. Around the shank of the bolt 63 is mounted a compression-spring 66, the ends of which press, respectively, against the back of the plate 64 and end of the bolt 61, and the motion of the bolt 63 is limited with respect to the bolt 61 by the transverse pin 67, operating in a longitudinal slot 68 in the side of the bolt 61, as shown, the object being to produce a spring-contact,

so that the depression of the bolt 61 shall cause the contact-plate 64 to be pressed resiliently against the plate to make electrical contact therewith. The respective contactplates 64 and 65 are electrically connected with the terminals of a circuit 69, which may be energized from the same battery 53and has at the station end a bell or other signal ing device 70 located therein, so that when the bolt 61 is depressed to bring the two contact-plates together thebell 70 will be rung.

Cooperating with the bolt 61 to produce this effect are a series of bosses 71 on the face of the pallet-wheel adjacent to the contact device, these being four in number, and these are located at the bases of the respective arms 15, while two others (designated 71) are at points slightly in advance of the two diametrically opposite arms 15, which are adapted to be caught by thepallet 16 when the semaphore is in safety position. It will be seen, therefore, that the four bosses 71 will suecessively strike and depress the bolt 61 whenever the pallet 16 is withdrawn, and, moreover, the bosses 71 are opposite the contactbolt when the semaphore is stationary and in danger position, so that the hell 7 0 will be continuously rung when the semaphore is in this position. i

The mode of operation of my improved semaphore-as thus far described is as follows: When the operator desires to change the position of a signal, he depresses the button 54 within the station, which causes the magnet 51 to be energized, and thereby raises the click 45, so as torelease the tooth 4st of the wheel 43,and thereby turns the latter through one hundred and eighty degrees, whereupon it will be brought to a stop by the engagement of the tooth 44L with the lower member 4E9 of the click. In this position the parts will be as shown in dotted lines in Fig. 5, and the weight 26 will thereupon cause the semaphore-arms to revolve till the arm 15 of the pallet-wheel strikes against the lower member 58 of the pallet, in which position it will be retained until the button 54 is released. The operator will keep his finger on the button tillthe bell rings, which will be the case when one set of arms 15 are in vertical position and retained in this position by the lower arm 58 of the pallet, as shown in Fig. 5, and in which position a boss 71 will engage the bolt 61. As soon, therefore, as the operator hears the bell ring he releases the button 54, which permits the click 45 to drop again, whereupon the wheel4=3 will revolve another half-revolution until brought to a stop by the tooth 44 coming in contact with the upper member 48 of the click, and the pallet 16 will be returned to its original position, thus releasing the arm 15 of the pallet-wheel which rests against the arm 58 of the pallet and permitting the quarter revolution of the palletwheel to be completed until the next arm 15 rests against the pallet 16. At this last point the bell will cease ringing, owing to the boss 71 passing beyond the contact-bolt 61; but in case the signal is being turned'into the danger position the boss 71 will depress the contact-bolt continuously, and thus keep the bell 7 0 in continuous operation until the semaphore has been turned through another quarter-revolution by subsequent depression of the button 5 1.

The preferable construction of the semaphore is that shown in the drawings, in which a visual enlargement 73 is located on the end of the semaphore-arm to assist the sight by day, whereas a second enlargement 74L, hav-' ing a red glass 7 5 thereirnis carried within the arm and opposite the lantern 76, suspended from the side of the semaphore-box to enable the same to be seen bynight. Furthermore, I preferably provide a secondary pair of semaphorearms 77, rigid with the shaft 8 and at right angles with the arms 7, which are of less length than the latter and carry at their ends blue or yellow glasses 78,

which cause the common white light of the lantern to be distinguished from other lights in the neighborhood of cities and call the same to the attention of the engineman on the train.

For the protection of the semaphore-arms, and particularly the upwardly-extending member when in its vertical position, I pro vide asemicircular hood or cowl 79, which incloses and covers the upper arm and prevents damage by wind and rain.

While I have shown in the accompanying drawings the preferred form of my invention, it will be understood that I do not limit my self to the precise form shown, for many f the details may be changed in form or position without affecting the operativeness or utility of my invention, and I therefore reserve the right to make all such modifications as are included within the scope of the following claims or of mechanical equivalents to the structuresset forth.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new, and'desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-' 1. In a semaphore, the combination of swing-- ing arms, an axle on which they are pivoted, a motor arranged to drive said axle, a palletwh'eel on an extended end of said axle, a second pallet pivotally mounted on a fixed part, an electrically-operated releasing device for breaking engagement between the arms of the said pallet-Wheel and pallet, a safety device adapted to operate toactuate the returnsignal of the semaphore, a notched wheel, a releasing-click mounted for cooperation with said notched wheel, and a connection between said wheel and the upper arm of said pallet.

.2. In a semaphore, the combination of swinging arms, their axle, a motor for turning said axle, a pallet-wheel carried by the axle, apallet-lever mounted-for cooperation therewith, a secondary axle, a motor for turning the same, a wheel having a radial tooth mounted on the secondary axle, a click, a pitman connected' with the said wheel and with the pallet, means for operating said click, and means for actuating the click to release the secondary axle and permit the rotation of the swingingarms. p

- 3. Inasemaphore,thecombination ofswing ing arms, their axle, means for turning the axle, a pallet-wheel carried by the said axle, a pallet-lever for cooperation with the arms of the pallet-wheel, a secondary axle, means for turning the same, a wheel with radial tooth on said secondary axle, a click adapted for cooperation with the tooth of said wheel, connections between said wheel and pallet, means to operate the click, a primary and a secondary circuit-closing device and a signaling device located in the secondary circuit, and means carried by the pallet-wheelfor cooperation with the secondary circuit-closing device whereby the operator is assured of the operation of the semaphore.

4. In a semaphore,the combination of swinging arms, their axle and means for turning the axle, of a pallet-wheel, a pallet-lever mounted for cooperation with said palletwheel, a toothed wheel, a connection between the same and the pallet-lever, means for actuating said wheel, a signaling device, means for controlling the same, and a safety device and connections whereby the operator is assured of the operation of the semaphore,

5. In a semaphore,the combination of swinging arms, an axle for the same and means for turning the axle, of a secondary axle, means for turning the same, coacting means on said axles, for holding the arms against turning,co acting means on the secondary axle and a pivoted pallet mounted on a stationary part for releasing said arms, a circuit-closing device controlling said means, and a secondary circuit-closing device embodying a spring-actuated bolt and bosses for cooperation therewith, as and for the purpose specified.

6. In a semaphore,the combination of swinging arms,an axle on which said arms are mounted, a motor adapted to intermittently drive said axle, a pallet-wheel mounted on said axle and having projecting arms, a double-armed pallet the upper arm of which is adapted to engage an arm of said pallet-wheel in one position and the lower arm when in the opposite position, an electromagnet adapted to cause the withdrawal of the upper arm of said pallet, a circuit adapted to energize said electromagnet, a-circuit-closing device located in said circuit for completing the same, whereby the successive depression and releasing of said circuit-closing device causes the pallet-wheel to be rotated, a series of bosses projecting from the face of said pallet-wheel, a second circuit-closing device having a depressible bolt located adjacent to said pallet-wheel and adapted to be depressed by said bosses, an electric circuit connected to said second circuit-closing device, and signaling means located in said circuit and at the station where said firstmentioned circuitclosing device is located, whereby said signaling device is caused to be operated by the turning of said arms,substanwhich they are journaled, a s uitable motor connected to said axle to turn thesame, a fourarmed pallet-wheel mounted on said axle, a two-armed pallet-lever pivoted on a stationary bracket at the side of the pallet-wheel and the upper arm of which normally engages therewith, a secondary axle mounted in stationary journalsat the side of the main axle, a motor connected therewith to turn the same, a wheel having a radial tooth mounted on said secondary axle, a click having two members at opposite sides, of said wheel adapted to engage said tooth, a pitman connected to said wh eel and to said palletto operate the sanie,an electromagnet adapted to operate said click, a circuit in which said magnet is located, and a circuitclosing device located in said circuit at a distant point whereby the depression of same will cause said click to be operated to release said secondary axle and the pallet-wheel thereby to be withdrawn to permit the rotation of said swinging arms, substan tially as described.

8.In an electric semaphore, the combination of swinging arms, a horizontal axle on which they are journaled, a suitable motor connected to said axle to turn the same, afourarmed pallet-wheel mounted on said axle, a two-armed pallet-lever pivoted on a stationary bracket at the side of the pallet-wheel and the upper arm of which normallyengages therewith, a secondary axle mounted in stationary journals at the side of the main axle, a motor connected therewith to turn the same, a wheel having a radial tooth mounted on said secondary axle, a click having two members at opposite sides of said wheel adapted to engage said tooth, a pitman connected to said wheel and to said pallet to operate the same, an electromagnet adapted to operate said click, a circuit in which said magnet is located, a circuit-v closing device located in said circuit at a distant point whereby the depression of same will cause said click to be operated to release said secondary axle and the pallet-wheel thereby to be withdrawn to permit the rotation of said swinging arms, a second circuit-closing device located adjacent to the face of said pallet-wheel and having a depressible bolt, a circuit connected with the terminals of said lastnamed device, a signaling device such as a bell located in said last mentioned circuit at the operating end of the line, and a series of bosses carried on the face of said pallet-wheel adapted to depress said last-named circuitclosing device at each quarter-revolution of said pallet-wheel, whereby the operator is assured of the operation of the semaphore, substantially as described.

In witness whereof I have hereunto set my hand in the presence of two witnesses.

DON A BOIS VERT.

Witnesses:

J. A. MARION, V. (JoEHUE. 

